When Punjab police gunned down notorious gangster Harjinder Singh, alias Vicky Gounder, on Friday evening, it marked the end of a year-long manhunt, backed by intelligence from multiple sources.
Five teams comprising 35 men executed the highly technical operation, based on intelligence, resulting in the death of Gounder — a wanted category ‘A’ gangster and the mastermind of the high-security Nabha jail break in 2016. His death has put a lid on 10 cases of heinous crimes.
Major crackdown
The operation, which also led to the killing of Gounder’s associate Prema Lahoria and an unidentified man, is being seen as a major step in the crackdown on gangsters in Punjab.
Director-General of Police Suresh Arora on Saturday said the Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU) of the intelligence wing, under DGP, Intelligence Dinkar Gupta, had been keeping an eye, and collecting information, on the movement of these two gangsters from field formations for a while.
“Last week, OCCU got information that these two gangsters were spotted in the border districts of Fazilka, Ferozepur and Taran Tarn. Later, inputs of their movement was reported in Sarwar Khuhian area of Fazilka, following which a team of OCCU was dispatched for reconnaissance of the area. On January 26, information was received that both the offenders were hiding at Panjawa village, and the police also discovered that Lakhwinder Singh, alias Lakha, a close associate of Vicky Gounder, was also residing in the same village. The team found that both the accused were hiding in the dhanni (small conglomeration of houses) of Lakha,” said Mr. Arora.
Mr. Arora said five teams were then constituted to raid the dhanni and nab the gangsters.
“The operation started at 5.30 p.m. on Friday. While one team covered the house from the roof-top of the neighbouring house, another covered the rear boundary wall, and the third entered from the main gate, with the remaining teams covering the two other doors. As the police moved further, three persons came out from a room and started firing on the cops.
Filmi style operation
One of them took shelter behind a mini bus, while two others ran towards the rear boundary wall, with the former giving them covering fire. In spite of repeated appeals to surrender, they continuously fired at the police party, injuring two policemen.
In retaliatory firing, Gounder and Lahoria were shot dead. The third person, whose identity is yet to be established, was shifted to Civil Hospital, Abohar, with injuries, to which he succumbed,” said Mr. Arora, adding that a total of 40 shots were fired from by the police party in exchange of about a dozen fired by the gangsters.
Mr. Arora said the dhanni was technically inside the jurisdiction of village Pakki of Ganganagar in Rajasthan, hardly 50 metres from Punjab’s border.
“A case under sections 307, 332, 34 of the IPC and sections 25-27-54-59 of the Arms Act, has been registered with the at police station Hindumal Kot and investigation was taken up by Ganganagar Police,” he said.
